Burned (18 page)

“I didn’t ask and he didn’t offer to tell me. Besides, Murad is back and I’m not in charge anymore.”

Nick felt Jon’s stare and smiled. “What?”

“When did you and Lincoln decide to be exclusive?  She only split with Ant a couple of weeks ago. Nick, make sure you aren’t falling into a rebound situation.”

Nick raised his brow. “I know what I’m doing. Lincoln has been upfront with me about wanting time to clear her head. In the meantime though, we’ve been getting closer.”

“How close?”

Nick wiggled his brows. “Close.”

Jon's hand slammed down on the table. “Are you kidding? You’ve slept with her?”

“Lower your voice, man,” Nick said, frowning. “Don’t make it sound like it was disgusting. I genuinely care about her. You know me, Jon. I love women and can snap them up like candy. Every since Lincoln came along, I don’t even look at other women. Hell, I wiped my cell phone clean of the numbers of my ‘friends with benefits’ chicks.”

Jon shook his head and chuckled. “I anticipate a war raging and it will not end well. There is no way you and Ant will be able to work together once he finds out.”

“You want me to quit my job?  I’m not doing that or giving Ant the benefit of running me away from my firehouse. He can leave if he can’t deal with it.”

“I agree, but he has seniority over you. I hear Colby is resigning. He’s moving his family out west. You might want to consider transferring to Orlando’s shift. You’ll still be at Station 30 and not lose any seniority.”

Nick’s interests rose with that information. “That’s not a bad idea. Since Regan and Lincoln are sisters, I’ll probably be hanging out with him more anyhow.”

“Yup, couple’s night will be a ball.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?  You don’t think I belong with them?”

“I’m gonna be real with you for a second. This thing between you and Lincoln is going to be more complicated than you think. And I’m not talking about Anthony acting an ass. Nick, you’ve never been in an interracial relationship before. Are you prepared to handle it?”

Nick rolled his eyes upward. “You’re doing it, so why don’t you think I can handle it.”

“Because I’m not a newbie. I’ve always dated Black women and you know that. However, that doesn’t change anything. We still get stares and I worry about my son being picked on when he’s old enough to go to school. Gabby and I have prepared ourselves for the day he asks why his mommy is Black and his daddy is White. There is a lot involved and I don’t want to see Lincoln or you hurt because you can’t handle it. Then there is your father...”

Nick stopped him from talking. “I’m not a teenager, Jon. I’m going into this with my eyes and mind open. And my old man can take his seat in hell now for all I care. What I feel for Lincoln will surpass any hatred thrown at me. I will protect her and not let her take any shit from anyone. I swear on that with my life.”

Jon sat back in the chair impressed. “Damn, Nick. I don’t have anything to add to that. I’m here and so is Gabby if you or Lincoln need someone to talk to if the pressure gets to be too much.”

“Thanks for supporting me in this, Jon.”

“That’s what friends do, man.”

Nick got up from the table. “I’m gonna try her one more time before we get busy. I’ll see ya later.”

Nick stepped outside for privacy. The night air was chilly after another rainy day. The May showers just wouldn’t seem to stop. He walked over to the far side of the building and leaned against the damp brick wall. He dialed her number and got no answer. This time he left a message. “Hey, babe, where are you? Call me soon as you get this message.”

He checked his watch; it was 8:30 in the evening. If she had plans with friends, she would have told him, but he hadn’t talked to her since yesterday. Worry set in his bones. This was not like her. Lincoln kept in touch with him even if they were playing phone tag. He scrolled down to Orlando’s number but didn’t make the call. He didn’t want to start a chain of panic because he hadn’t talked to Lincoln all day. He would wait to see if she returned his call tonight and if not, he would stop by her apartment on his way home in the morning.

The next morning as Nick prepared to leave the station, he ran into Orlando coming in for his shift. “Hey, Nick, have you talked to Lincoln?”  He voice bubbled with concern.

Nick threw his duffel back over his shoulder. “Not a word. I’m stopping by her place on my way home.”

“Call me if she isn’t there. Her mom and sisters are freaking out and I’m kinda worried about her too.”

“No one bothered to check on her yesterday?” he asked, suppressing a quick surge of anger.

“Hey, the woman is grown and has a life of her own. She doesn’t have to ask permission do what she wants,” Orlando replied tersely.

He walked past Orlando to the bay doors. “I’ll let you know if she is there.”  Nick didn’t want this situation with Orlando to get ugly. They were aware of what she was going through and should have taken the initiative to check on her.

“Nick.”

He kept walking but looked over his shoulder. “Yeah.”

“Don’t forget to meet me at the tuxedo shop on Saturday.”

He threw up his hand. “Right, I’ll be there at 2:00 o’clock sharp.” He had forgotten about the appointment to pick up his tux. The wedding was going to be a struggle to get through with Anthony and him standing side by side. When he was supposed to smile and appear happy, he would instead think of ways to destroy Anthony or make him suffer for hurting Lincoln.

God forbid if he’s stupid enough to bring Melanie to the wedding. The event could possibly end up on the 6:00 o’clock news. He got in his truck and shook off the whole scenario and hoped Anthony wouldn’t be that dumb.

Nick parked in the open space in front of her apartment and got out to walk up to her apartment. If she wasn’t home, he would drive downtown to her job. His attention was drawn to an elderly woman walking a diminutive dog down the sidewalk waving wildly at him.

He backed off the patio and went to the woman to keep her from hurrying in his direction. “Ma’am, do you need help with something?” he asked as he reached her.

“Oh, no, I’m okay. I wanted to know how the young girl that lives there is doing. She was so upset yesterday.”

Nick winced. “You saw her yesterday?”

The woman nodded picking up the dog. “Yes. She was arguing with a man in her car. When he left, she was crying. I asked her if he’d hurt her and she said no.”

“This man, was he about my height but Black?”

“Yes,” she said nodding her head faster.

Nick bit his bottom lip sucking it in. “Have you seen her this morning?”

“No. And I’ve been outside with Misty for a few hours. I wanted to knock on her door, but I didn’t want to intrude on her. It was such a nasty argument she was having with that man. This is a quiet community and we never hear anyone fighting or arguing like that. That’s why I’m concerned about her.”

Fear took over him. Anthony wasn’t the violent type but when under pressure the meekest person could break. “I’m going to check on her now. Thanks for telling me what you know.”

“I’m glad to help. Domestic violence is a serious problem. By the way, who are you? Are you a policeman?”

Nick shook his head anxious to get away from the woman and to Lincoln. “No, ma’am, I’m a firefighter.”

“I see, a firefighter, how nice. Are you dating this young lady?”

He didn’t know how to answer that since their relationship had not been officially defined. “You can say that. Hey, I’m gonna check to make sure she is okay and let her know you’re looking out for her.”

“If you need me, I live in the tall building on the corner in apartment 103.”

Nick watched the elderly woman shuffle down the walk with her dog in tow. He turned away and went back to Lincoln’s apartment and knocked softly on the door. He knocked again when he got no response.

He looked around. The complex was quiet other than people leaving for work or walking their pets. He noticed the garage door had a small window. Nick looked through the window and saw her car. He went back to her door and banged harder with the palm of his hand. “Lincoln, open up or I’ll break the damn door down. You know I won’t have a problem getting in.”

The door cracked open a smidgen. He pushed it open all the way and stepped inside. Lincoln had all the curtains drawn and the apartment was dark and warm. The television was on but the sound off. She was lying on the sofa curled under a thick blanket.

He sat on the edge of the sofa cushion and placed a hand on her hip and said, “Lincoln, tell me what happened.”

“Nick, go home. I want to be alone.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what happened with Ant. I know he was here yesterday and you got in an argument.”

“Nosey ass neighbors,” she muffled from under the blanket covering her head.

“In this case, I’m glad she was nosey. What did Ant say to make you this way?”

She sat up pushing tangles of hair away from her face. “He confirmed my suspicions, Nick. He knew about his son before now and he has been with Melanie for over a year. The egg is on my face this time. The two years that we were together was a big fat joke. According to him, Michigan was their meeting place. He would go there to be with her and their son. Anthony was living a double life and I had no clue.”

Nick barely recognized her. Her face was puffy and her eyes red and swollen from crying. This was not the woman he was with just two days ago. This woman was small and her self-confidence broken.

He reached out to her and pulled her in his arms. “Why didn’t you let me know, Lincoln?  Your family is worried about you. I was worried about you.”

“I couldn’t face anyone. Anthony has won. He has succeeded in breaking me down to nothing. Nick, run from me while you can. You deserve better, and I honestly don’t know if I can be with another man ever again,” she cried in his arms.

His heart was beating fast in his chest from the anger building inside him. He’d be damned if Anthony got away with this. “I’m not running anywhere. I have to make a quick stop at home and I’ll be back to take care of you, okay.”

“No, just stay home, please.”

He stood up and tucked the blanket around her body. “Nope. I’ll be back in a flash.”

Outside her apartment, he called Orlando and let him know Lincoln was home but didn’t go into detail about her condition. He hung up from Orlando and made another call. “Hey, I need to talk to you. Can you meet me at the firehouse in an hour?”

“I’m kind of busy, can it wait?”

Nick kicked at a rock laying by his foot. “No, it can’t.”

“Fine, I’ll be there.”

“I’m on my way, too,” he said, as he jumped into his truck and peeled out of the complex.

Nick arrived back at the station and saw Anthony talking with Orlando. His emotions were working off pure adrenaline when he walked over to them. Orlando stood up from the table. “What the heck are you doing back here?”

Nick put his hands on his hips. “I called and asked Ant to meet me here and I’m glad you’re here to witness this, Orlando.”

“Witness what?”

Nick shot his eyes to Anthony. He stood at the counter drinking a cup of coffee as if he didn’t have a care in the world. If he could see what he had done to Lincoln, he wouldn’t be standing there so smug and self-assured. Nick felt the hatred for him creep up from the depths of his belly. He knew what he was about to do would probably ruin his relationship with Lincoln for good, but Anthony needed to be taught a lesson and he was more than happy to give it to him.

He folded his arms across his chest. “Go ahead and tell him what you did to Lincoln, Ant. Tell her brother-in-law what you did!”

Anthony brows frowned. “What the hell is your problem, Nick!”

Orlando shouted at the both of them. “What the hell is going on Ant?  What did you do to Lincoln. Man, don’t pull no shit on me.”

“I didn’t do anything to her, Orlando.”

Nick poked Anthony in the chest with his finger. “Why are you fucking lying to him? Why don’t you tell him how you’ve been sleeping with Melanie for over a year! Tell him how you knew about your son.”

“Shut up, Nick,” Anthony said, fuming and balling a fist into a tight ball.

Nick’s dark eyes glowed and his nostrils flared. “You caught me off guard last time, but I’m ready for your ass this time.”

Orlando held Nick back. “Nick, hold on. Anthony, is this true?”

Anthony came clean knowing he had no other choice. He saw that Orlando had taken what Nick said as the truth and the anger that spread across his face would worsen the situation if he lied. “Yeah, it’s all true! Are you happy now! Are you glad Lincoln’s protector got the dirt on me.”  He scowled at Nick  “I warned you to stay away from her but you wouldn’t do it.”

Nick curled his lip. “You don’t have the right to order me to do a damn thing!”

Anthony glared at him. “Who the hell are you to confront me on something that doesn’t have shit to do with you or Orlando?  Wait, are you messing around with Lincoln?”

Orlando stepped in again. “This shit does concern me because it affects Regan and her sisters.”

“Stay out of this, Orlando! We’ll talk later. Right now, I want to know what this dick is doing with Lincoln!”  Anthony took a step towards Nick.

Orlando tried to come between them. “Before this shit gets more out of control, you know you can’t fight here. Nick, you’re off duty, go home!”

Nick’s body stiffened as he ignored Orlando’s order and moved closer to Anthony. “I don’t have a reason to lie, Ant. I am with Lincoln and I’m making her forget all about your sorry ass. That nice soft spot you gave up in her bed belongs to me. Now she will know what it’s like to have a real man take care of her and satisfy her needs.”  He grinned, adding fuel to the blazing fire. “Man, I love the way she calls my name when we’re making love. Our sweaty bodies clinging together afterwards…Ahhh.”  He puckered his lips against his fingertips and blew an outward kiss that pissed Anthony off.

“Sonofabitch!  You’re a dead man,” Anthony, said seething.

Nick continued, his voice engraved with a deep fury. “It doesn’t bother you a damn bit how badly she is feeling. I’m gonna change that for her and it will never happen again as long as I’m around. Nobody will ever hurt her again, do you hear me! Come near Lincoln again and I will cut your cheating, lying ass down like a dead tree.”